Te rapu i ngā mauhanga whenua

Searching land records

Each Land District administered freehold land within their respective areas. In practice this means that Deeds Records cover areas settled by Europeans up until 1870. Areas that were settled by Europeans after 1870 were registered under the Land Transfer Act and thereby bypass the Deeds System entirely.

Māori Land is not covered by the Deeds System and neither is land held by the Crown.

To search the Deeds Registration System, one of the following is needed:

• A Certificate of Title record that refers to a Deeds Index entry. Certificates of Title records are held by LINZ

• Legal Description: The Section Number (Appellation) of the piece of land.

• The name of a historical Registered Owner. See Nominal Indexes.

• The ability to identify the land from a historical map. See Roll Plans.

The first Certificate of Title issued against a piece of land may cite a preceding deeds reference. This is noted in the top-left corner of a certificate of title (see pages 4-5). Any subsequent certificates of title will quote the preceding certificate of title reference. The first certificate of title issued for a piece of land is therefore key to locating historical information in the deeds system.

Much of the land which the Crown later granted or sold to individuals was first purchased from Māori, and many records of those purchases exist. A few pertain to acquisitions for reserve, educational or other purposes.

Land taken under the Public Works Act is not documented in the Crown Purchase Deeds collections.

[ABWN 8104 W5279/123-133]

• Auckland 1859-1996 (1-3203, 3204-5524, 5525-5803)

• Hawkes Bay 1859-1992 (1-876)

• Taranaki 1844-1994 (1-870)

• Wellington 1858-1994 (1-1821)

• Marlborough 1847-1993 (1-370)

• Nelson 1856-1992 (1-632)

• Westland 1860-1996 (1-171)

• Canterbury 1848-1994 (1-1740)

• Otago/Southland 1853-1993 (1-1997)

[ABWN 8102/184-378; ABWN 8102 W5279/1-184, 215-224, 261-274]

Many are individually listed on Collections search by deed number and name: AUC 1-4710 (gap 2100-2999); HWB 1-514; TAR 4-36; WGN 3-1427; MAR 1-368; NEL 1-539; WES 1-120; CAN 1-1207; OTG 1-5. Others are group listed: Taranaki 2-789; Canterbury 641-1340; Otago/Southland 3-1854. The indexes list some deeds that are not held by us.

Aperture card copies of many records for the Auckland region are held in our Auckland archive. Some other records also exist and are listed on Collections search, some under ‘Native Land Purchase’ or ‘Maori Land Purchase’.

Land taken under the Public Works Act was usually taken by means of a Proclamation. Proclamations consist of a notice published in The New Zealand Gazette and an attached plan. Proclamations are held by LINZ.

We may hold the plan referenced in the Gazette notice within the Public Works Department plan collections

• Public Works – Maps and Plans [ACHL 22541]

• Works and Development Maps and Plans (microfilm aperture cards) [ABZK 24411 W5433]

A copy of every Grant issued was kept by the Crown Lands Office and its successors. They only complete set of Crown Grants covering all of New Zealand with any amendments or cancellations noted 1842-1961.

A Crown Grant is searched for through Alphabetical Indexes 1842-1920 [ABWN 8092] held in the main Register Room. The volumes cover provincial regions.

There are also Crown Grants Sectional Indexes 1856-c1899 [ABWN 8096 W5274/547-560]. The volumes cover provincial regions.

The alphabetical and sectional indexes are both available online.

[AFIH 22367 W5687/67-80] The Land & Deeds District Office set of Crown Grant Record Books 1852-1914 is accessed from the Deeds Indexes [AFIH 22394 W5691/39-99 & 392] in the LINZ Register Room (see page 1).

[AFIH 22359 W5687/18-56]

The Lands & Survey Wellington District Office set of Crown Grant Registers 1850-1914 is accessed from the Wellington Land District Roll Plans 1840-1977 [AFIH 22381 W5692/1-124] (see below).

• Crown Grant Nominal Register – Index to Crown Grants [AFIH 22365 W5687/65]

• Crown Grants Nominal Register 1850-1881 [AFIH 22363 W5687/61 & 283]

• Registers of Issue of Crown Grants 1852-1914 [AFIH 22364 W5687/62-64]

  • These recorded proof that a Crown Grant had been issued by Lands & Survey and an appropriate fee paid.

• Index to Crown Grants & Special Crown Grants [AFIH 22362 W5687/59-60]

  • These indexes provide access by name of Grantee to the Lands & Survey, Wellington Land District, Crown Grant Registers [AFIH 22359 W5687/18-56]

• Register of Crown Grants – Temporary Records [AFIH 22361 W5687/58]

  • Prior to 1856 the original Crown Grant was handed to the grantee and signed for in a register. The register in this series recorded details of these early Crown Grants in the Wellington Land District. Brief details of each Grant are given along with a small sketch map of the land. These were only a Temporary Grant. The final Crown Grant is the Lands & Survey copy [AFIH 22359] with the same number as the Temporary Grant.

• Register of Crown Grants by Registration District [AFIH 22357 W5687/12-15]

  • The first volume contains an index (by Registration District) to other registers. The Grant number is the Lands & Survey Crown Grant [AFIH 22359].

• Index to Maori Crown Grants 1876-1886 [AFIH 22366 W5687/66]

• Maori Crown Grant Registers 1876-1886 [AFIH 22358 W5687/16-17]

These record Māori Crown Grants in the Wellington Land District. Entries are similar to Crown Grant Registers and are copies of original Grant documents. The index lists only the first name, but often more than one name is entered for a block in the Register.

AFIH 22874 W5687/244-252, 279 Warrants are authorities for issue of titles under the Land Transfer Act 1870. From 14 August 1880 they replaced the Crown Grant process and they may still be issued in special circumstances. Warrants were issued as pages containing several entitlement authorities. These individual pages were subsequently bound to form the volumes for the Wellington Land District. Two copies were produced, for Lands & Survey 1880-1960 [(ADXS 19578) LS-W 75/1-11] and for Land & Deeds (above). References to these Warrant Books can be found in:

• Roll Plans

• Certificates of Titles

• Crown Land Register cards

• LINZ Card Indexes (LINZ Hamilton)

ABWN 591 W5274/1-76, 633 Some volumes contain an index. Alphabetical Registers to Warrant Books 1880-1918 [ABWN 8094 W5274/77-91] organised by province, also provide access to Warrants by name of owner. After 1918, the Land District and date are needed to find a warrant. Details of a Warrant can be found on the Certificate of Title itself, held by the appropriate office of LINZ.

ABWN 592

The Warrant System was followed by the system of issuing Section 116 Certificates, from 1952. The original certificates are held by LINZ but their set is incomplete. The set we hold is a duplicate [ABWN 592]. These records are arranged sequentially by number and can be accessed from a citation on a Certificate of Title document.

These may be loose-leaf or bound volumes. The loose leaf Volumes 1-13 are at Recall Wellington (contact LINZ). The Bound Volumes 14-24 are in our Wellington archive. [AFIH 22488 W5687/172-182]

Provisional Titles were first provided for by Section 8 of the Land Transfer Amendment Act 1871. They are now issued under Section 50 of the Land Transfer Act 1952.

Provisional Titles recorded land alienation from the Crown during the period between authorisation of the disposal and the issue of a Crown Grant or Warrant. This document preparation and execution process could span many months. The delay may have been while awaiting survey of the land.

Certificates signed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands were placed in the ‘Provisional Register’ folder at the Land Registry. When the relevant Crown Grant or Warrant was registered a certificate of title was issued, all memorials on the Provisional Title were recorded on the Land Transfer Title, and the Provisional Title was cancelled.

References to these Registers can be found in:

• Roll Plans

• Certificates of Title

• Crown Land Register cards

• LINZ Card Indexes (LINZ Hamilton)

The original record of land alienation by the Crown. The books are organised alphabetically by district and record the acquisition of land and its subsequent disposal.

Allotment books refer to a variety of further records including the Crown Lands Register (see below), Lands & Survey Crown Grants [AFIH 22359 W5687/18-56], Provisional Title Registers (see above) and New Zealand Gazette notices. Allotment books also record the issue of a Certificate of Title, especially if the Crown leased the land.

Two groups of Allotment Books are held, from the Wellington office of Lands & Survey: [AAMI 6292/1-11] [(ADXS 19507) LS-W 18/1-18]

Though the entries are by district, the books seem to be in no set order either chronologically or geographically. On being surveyed, blocks of land were entered in the books and subsequently details of the sale or lease. The amount of information in each book varies. Reserves – recreation, railways and education – are recorded, and allotments for forestry, dairy co-operatives and local bodies.

[AFIH 22875 W5687/254-256] Warrants issued by the Governor authorising the taking of Māori land for roading purposes

[AFIH 22876 W5687/257]

A single volume of Warrant authorising the designation of Crown land for roading purposes

• Wellington Land District [AFIH 22381 W5692/1-124

• Taranaki Land District [BAPP 23827 1-86]

• Hawkes Bay Land District [AFIH 22493 W5693/1-37]

These large format plans, created by Lands & Survey, draw upon several major plan sequences including Deposited Plans (DP) Maori Land Plans (ML) and Survey Office Plans (SO). Roll Plans often include references to these plans and may note early Crown Grants, subdivisions, and applications for Crown Land.

Roll Plans are listed on Collections search, and may be found through the name of an area or by SO plan number searches. Additional information may be found in:

• Wellington Roll Plan Indexes [AFIH 22888 W5687/280-282]

• Wellington Roll Plan Register [AFIH 22486 W5687/170]

• Hawkes Bay Roll Plan Index [AFIH 22459 W5694/86-87]

Many Roll Plans show various sections within the area depicted. This is a way to find the section number for a property if the location of a property is known, but not the legal description (appellation).

Photographed plans on Aperture Cards:

• Survey Plans (SO 10300-38391) [AFIH 22891 W5687/293-326]

• Maori Land Plans (ML 1-5662) [AFIH 22890 W5687/286-292]

• Deposited Plans (DP 1-91244) [AFIH 22893 W5687/332-396]

Copies of these plans can also be obtained from LINZ.

[AFIH 22355 W5687/10] The earliest Wellington Survey Office plans were stored in Drawers and numbered sequentially with references such as’1/23’ equating to Drawer 1 plan number 23. Such references are found on older Deposited Plans or Maori Land plans. These old plans were later given a Survey Office (SO) Plan Number – a straight numerical sequence. This book allows cross referencing of old Survey plans which have been renumbered.

[AFIH 22375 W5687/148-149]

For each Māori Block, the relevant Maori Land Plan (ML) number is given and a plan number for each partition of it.

Each District Land Office maintained a register of land held or acquired by the Crown. These consist of three series of cards organised by:

• Registration District [AFIH 22483 W5687/156, 160]

• Survey Block/District [AFIH 22924 W5687/161-162

• Deposited Plan No. [AFIH 22925 W5687/163-164]

Each card gives brief details of the land block and date of acquisition.

[LS-W 16]

These registers record Applications to Purchase Crown Land, made to the Lands & Survey Office in Wellington. The actual application files are bound into volumes [LS-W15]

References to these applications can be found in Roll Plans (see previous page) and in:

• Crown Grant Nominal Register – Index to Crown Grants [AFIH 22365 W5687/65]

• Crown Grants Nominal Register 1850-1881 [AFIH 22363 W5687/61 & 283]

[LS-W 68/1-15]

Reports into Land Claims made by individuals for land originally bought from the New Zealand Company. A card index in the Wellington Reading Room provides access to these reports.

Successful claims resulted in a Crown Grant for the land in question. These Grants will be entered in:

• Crown Grants (Wellington Lands & Survey set) (see page 5) [AFIH 22359 W5687/18-56]

These reports may include references to any sale or division of land between the time of the original purchase from the New Zealand Company and the findings of the Commissioner’s report into the purchase.

Original documentation relating to these claims is also available. Use of the claim number is required to access this collection. [(ADXS 19552) LS-W 62]

[LS-W 67/1-9]

Original applications for recognition by the Land Claims Commissioner of purchases of land from the New Zealand Company. Access is via the BIO 1 card index in the Reading Room in Wellington or from the reports of the Commissioner [LS-W 68].

[LS-W 22]

This register details transfers of land and applications for Crown Land. There is an index by name at the front of the volume and the references found here can relate to Applications for Crown Land [LS-W16], and Deeds Registers [AFIH 22395].

Index of Grantees for Sections – Wanganui 1839-1876 [AFIH 22371 W5687/116]

Register of Land Transfers & Applications 1853-1864 [LS-W 22/1]

[BAPP 23523 W5750/122]

This register (held in the LINZ Register Room) has the same purpose as the Wellington Land District Wall Chart. Use this volume to determine which Deeds Index volume documents a section within the Taranaki Land District.

[BAPP 23516 W5750/12-25]

Deeds Index volumes (held in the LINZ Register Room) record all the registered transactions for a piece of land, on a dedicated page within the index.

Digitised versions of these indexes are available online via Collections search (see page 11).

The index number of each volume is prefaced with the letter ‘I’ to distinguish it from the physically similar Primary Entry Books.

Each page in a Deeds Index details the documents that were filed, including the document (instrument) type and number, date of registration, date of the document and where it is recorded and transcribed.

The record may be in a:

• Deeds Register Book [BAPP 23518 W5750/30-111]

• Crown Grant Book [BAPP 23525 W5750/135-143]

[BAPP 23515 W5750/1-11]

The Primary Entry Books are arranged by Instrument Number and state both the type of document and the parties to it. They refer (usually as book and page number) to where the document was recorded, for example in a:

• Deeds Register Book [BAPP 23518 W5750/30-111]

• Crown Grant Book [BAPP 23525 W5750/135-143]

These volumes are in the LINZ Register room. Digitised versions are available online via Collections search.

The Primary Entry Books also provide a reference to the Deeds Indexes [BAPP 23516 W5750/12-25], which show all dealings for a particular piece of land.

Instrument numbers can be found by searching for an owner’s name in the Nominal Indexes to Deeds [BAPP 23517/27-28] and Nominal Index to Powers of Attorney, Probate and Memorials [BAPP 23531/29] (see below).

[BAPP 23517/27-28]

Nominal Indexes are an alphabetical list of people who had an interest in a piece of land. Each name entry provides an instrument (document) number which leads to the Primary Entry Books (see above).

The alphabetical/nominal indexes were compiled as people registered documents into the deeds system, so the names are in approximate date order. There is some overlap between indexes so researchers should check all three indexes. It is likely the indexes are incomplete in the later 19th century.

The original volumes are in the LINZ Register Room and digital copies are available via Collections search.

[BAPP 23531/29]

The Nominal Indexes to Deeds [BAPP 23517/27-28] also record the types of instrument documented in this volume. The original volume is in the LINZ Register Room and a digital copy is available via Collections search.

[BAPP 23518/30-102]

As each deed was registered an entry was made in a Deeds Register. The entry includes a full transcript of the transaction, the instrument number, type of document, date registered, parties involved, a plan of the affected land and references the relevant Deeds Indexes. These registers are not held in the LINZ Register Room and need to be ordered via Collections search.

[BAPP 23525/135-143]

The Land & Deeds District Office set of Crown Grant Record Books 1856-1872 is accessed from the Deeds Indexes [BAPP 23516 W5750/12-25] in the LINZ Register Room (see above).

[BAPP 23524/129-133]

Warrants are authorities for issue of titles under the Land Transfer Act 1870. From 14 August 1880 they replace the Crown Grant process and they may still be issued in special circumstances.

References to these Warrant Books can be found in:

• Roll Plans [BAPP 23827]

• Certificates of Titles

• LINZ Card Indexes (LINZ Hamilton)

[AFIH 22441 W5694/35, 62]

The second volume here is a direct copy of the first. This index gives access to the Allotment Books [AFIH 22433]. It does not lead to Crown Grant documents, but serves as an index to those who received Crown Grants. To view Crown Grant documents from the Hawkes Bay Land District, use the National Set of Crown Grants [ABWN 8090]

[AFIH 22433 W5694/1-7]

These volumes are organised sequentially by district and cover the granting of lands by the Crown. These volumes record land granted to private individuals and also land disposed of for public purposes, such as railways and reserves.

[AFIH 22442 W5694/36-48]

Due to the destruction of the indexes to this collection it is recommended that researchers use the National Set of Crown Grants [ABWN 8090] to access Crown Grant documents from the Hawkes Bay Land District

[AFIH 22440 W5694/13-18]

Warrants are authorities for issue of titles under the Land Transfer Act 1870. From 14 August 1880 they replaced the Crown Grants and may still be issued in special circumstances.

Warrants were issued as pages containing several different authorities. These individual pages were subsequently bound to form the volumes for the Hawkes Bay Land District.

References to these Warrant Books can be found in:

• Roll Plans [AFIH 22493 W5693/1-37]

• Certificates of Titles

• Crown Land Register cards [AFIH 22478 W5694/144-150]

[AFIH 22470 W5694/106-108]

Provisional titles were issued for land previously held by the Crown or Māori. References to Provisional Titles can be found as a ‘Previous Registration’ on Certificates of Title. Land which was subject to a Provisional title was also commonly subject to a Warrant or Section 116 certificate (see Crown Grants section of this guide). This collection covers the years 1928-1958.

[AFIH 22437 W5694/11]

The entries in this volume were compiled 1931-1952 from New Zealand Gazette notices and from records of the Department of Lands and Survey. An alphabetical index gives access to the entries for each reserve. A digital copy of this record is available via Collections search.

[AFIH 22448 W5694/64]

This alphabetical index records details of persons leasing Crown Land 1887-1905. This volume is indexed by the name of the leaseholder.

[AFIH 22436 W5694/10]

This volume details successful and unsuccessful applications for Crown Land from 1931 to 1949. An alphabetical index at the beginning of the volume gives access to the individual entries.

[AFIH 22478 W5694/144-150]

Each District Land Office maintained a register of land held by the Crown. This card index covers the Hawkes Bay Land District 1960-1996. Details of persons leasing land from the Crown are also noted on these cards.

[AFIH 22446 W5694/49-57]

These binders record details of the partition of Māori blocks and are drawn from a variety of sources including Māori Land Court Minute Books and the New Zealand Gazette. Partition Orders and plans are often included. Each binder in this collection is organised alphabetically. While the binders date from the 1970s much of the information within is sourced from earlier records.

[AFIH 22463 W5694/92]

This volume records Māori Blocks in alphabetical order. Unlike the Maori Block Registers [AFIH 22446] this volume records plan numbers relevant to each block.